By Ildiko Kaszas
When the Great Canadian Theatre Company renewed its Late Night Series this season, 24 year-old Christopher Roberts got to do what most aspiring directors only dream of – produce a play on a professional stage.
The series, which gives young people an alternative to popular theatre and the chance to see work produced by their peers, reopened Sept. 11 after a three-year hiatus.
The first play is the absurdist Ideology is a Mother, a set of four short pieces by playwright Samuel Beckett.
“I want to provide young people with material that is cutting edge and current to draw them in,” says Lorne Pardy, artistic director of the GCTC. He adds that the late night slot is convenient for many students.
Founded in 1992, the series began as a comedy showcase, but lost its focus after a few years and was cancelled, says Pardy.
After a successful 27th season, Pardy decided to bring back the series.
“It was time to take the risk again,” he says, explaining his decision to give first-time directors like Roberts complete control over the show.
Because the GCTC’s ticket sales were up 400 per cent last season, the company could absorb the cost of an experimental series, says Pardy.
Roberts’ company, the Ottawa-based Industrial Theatre Group, staged the production. He also got to choose the play’s content.
Roberts says he had no practical professional experience before coming to the GCTC. After spending time there as a student volunteer, he was offered the assistant director’s chair on two GCTC productions last year. Now, he has a full director’s credit to his name.
Roberts says his goal is not to make money. After all, he only needs to sell 10 tickets per show to break even.
“Neil Simon sells tickets. Rent sells tickets. Absurdist theatre doesn’t,” he says, addings that Beckett’s work isn’t often staged due to its dark, complex nature.
“I want[ed] to get people to think and feel on a fundamental level.”
Roberts calls the series an experiment. For the average theatre-goer, it’s unusual to see a director taking tickets before the show, greeting the audience or handing out programs. But that’s just what the Late Night Series aims to be, he says – something unique.
“Ottawa’s ready for it,” says Tania Levy, an Ideology cast member and graduate of the University of Ottawa’s theatre program. She says an interest in experimental theatre has developed as more people have become interested in Ottawa’s growing arts scene.
She says new theatre companies like Roberts’ are cropping up everywhere
“There’s a lot of buzz around that Ottawa is where Toronto was 20 years ago,” she says.
The series continues in November with Edward Albee’s Listening, directed by Pat Gauthier. The final installment comes in March with Mrs. Dally has a Lover a ‘60s era Broadway piece, directed by Pardy himself.
Levy says she hopes the Late Night Series is only the springboard for a larger movement, where the arts come to play a central role in young people’s lives. For Roberts and other hopefuls like him, it may be the beginning of a career.